Coddle, an Irish Stew
Welcome to friend and fellow author, Cindy Thomson, who shares a recipe with us for a delicious Irish stew. Cindy is the author of several historical novels set in Ireland or that have Irish characters. Welcome to Historical Nibbles, Cindy!
by Cindy Thomson
Ireland is a rural country dotted with seemingly endless family farms. Local beef, potatoes, cold weather vegetables, free range eggs … are all the things you’d expect to find enrich a meal in Ireland. I had my first grass-fed hamburger in Ireland. I had a beef stew in a gift shop that was so good. The woman who worked there had just brought it in from her own kitchen.
Some traditional Irish foods include beef stew, potato leek soup, Irish brown bread, and a full traditional Irish breakfast referred to sometimes as a fry up. I also love a dish called Coddle which is a traditional stew made with sausage, potatoes, and bacon.
I’m sharing my recipe with you today.
Ingredients8 slices bacon chopped into 1-inch pieces½ pound Irish pork sausages 8 sausage links1 pound potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 medium potatoes)3 medium onions sliced into ringsGround black pepper to season3 tablespoons chopped parsley divided2 cups chicken brothInstructionsHeat a teaspoon of oil in a hot skillet. Brown the sausages on all sides. Do not cook through. Set aside to cool.
Peel and slice the onions, separating the pieces into rings.
Peel and cut the potatoes into one inch cubes.
Slice the bacon into one-inch pieces.
Layer the ingredients in a Dutch oven starting with half the onions, four sausages and half the bacon. Season with pepper and sprinkle half the parsley over the onions and meat. Next add a layer of half the potatoes. Repeat all the layers onion, sausage, bacon, parsley, ground pepper and potatoes. Add the stock. It should come within one inch of the top of the ingredients but not cover them. Place the Dutch oven over a burner on a high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 2 hours.
Serve in a bowl with crusty bread on the side.
I hope you enjoy this delicious stew as much as my family does.
About Cindy
Known for the inspirational Celtic theme employed in most of her books, Cindy Thomson is the author of two novel series and several non-fiction books. She is the owner of a team blog Novel PASTimes, vice president of the Mordecai Brown Legacy Foundation, and co-founder of the Faith & Fellowship Book Festival. She is also a frequent Thurber House creative writing teacher. As a genealogy enthusiast, she does research for hire and writes from her home in central Ohio where she lives with her husband Tom near their three grown sons and their families. Visit her online at CindysWriting.com, on Facebook: Facebook.com/Cindyswriting, Twitter: @cindyswriting, Pinterest: @cindyswriting and Book Bub: @cindyswriting.
